Govt to recommend Bharat Ratna award for Tenzing Norgay

SILIGURI, 29 MAY: The north Bengal development minister, Mr Gautam Deb today said he would request the Chief Minister to approach the Centre through the President Mr Pranab Mukherjee, to confer Bharat Ratna award posthumously on Tenzing Norgay, the first Indian to scale Mount Everest along with

Edmund Hillary from New Zealand on 29 May in 1953.

He said Tenzing deserves the highest award of the country for his peerless achievement that made India proud. “It is a matter of regret that though he has been conferred with some of the highest civilian awards by several countries across the world, the highest award of the land he belonged to keeps eluding him for such a long a time,” he said while participating in the commemorative programme on the 60th anniversary of Tenzing’s feat in Siliguri today. However, the government of India bestowed the mountaineer with Padma Bhushan in 1959.

"The Centre should have taken the initiative long back. The demand is a longstanding one and it is queer that it is still being ignored. We think that the Chief Minister is positively inclined to the matter. I would take it up with her soon," Mr Deb added.

The various organisations representing the Sherpas ~ the sub-clan of the Nepalese community to which Tenzing belonged ~ and the family members of the mountaineer keep raising the demand for years.

Kusang Sherpa, the first to climb Everest five times and presently an instruction of the Hilmalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI), said at the same programme that Tenzing Norgay is still a name to conjure with, particularly among the adventurous youths of the country.

"He was the first Indian and also the Asian to court celebrity across the world. He came from a humble background and by sheer force of determination, he achieved what was deemed impossible. It is something we should all emulate if we aspire after greatness. The picture of Tenzing atop the world is something that beckons the adventurous. He epitomises the triumph of human determination over the insurmountable obstacles of nature,” he said.

However, the annual Tenzing Norgay Memorial Award that is given annually to clubs in north Bengal for their achievement in adventure sports at the behest of the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) has not been given this year because of the election model code of conduct having been enforced in view of the approaching rural body election. The award that comprises a trophy, a certificate and Rs 10,000 is being given on this day since 2003 ~ the golden jubilee year of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s feat.

statesman news service